Fence



J. L. FERGUSON.

(No Moqlel.)

F e nwo e.

No. 242,619. Patented June 7, i881.

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CA im iwf/iai n N. Pz'rins, mammography. wasmngmn, n. c.

tlNiTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. FERGUSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,619, dated June '7, 1881.

Application filed September 17, 18H0.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN L. FERGUSON, of the city of St. Louis, in the State et' Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fences, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description,reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specilication.

My invention relates to those fcncesin which the rails are secured to the posts by means ot' wire and staples or nails.

Myimprovement consists in the art of building such fences rapidly, to which end I proceed as follows: I take a wire of suitable length and secure it to a staple or nailon the side of the post, near the bottom; then pull the wire -sidewise ofthe post, and lay the end of a rail on the wire and bend the wire back over the rail and secure the wire to the side of the post, continuing to secure the rails in this manner until the top of the post isreached, when the end ot the wire is secured to the top staple. Then all the staples or nails are driven to their seats.

Heretofore the rails have been secured by means et' bands nailed tothe front of the post, or threaded through eye nails or threaded through the posts. This construction is ob jectionable because,iirst, the nails or eye-nails will pull out, and, secondly, because the perforating of the posts for threading consumes too much time. In another device a series of bands, either independent or connected,l1ave been applied to the sides of posts; but this construction necessitates the construction of the rail ends to tit the loops.

My mode of building overcomes the objectionable construction in a very simple manner, as commen rails can be used and a fence of considerable strength can be put up in a short time and at very little expense.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing one panel and the broken ends of the rails of two other panels. Fig. 2 is .a transverse section of the fence shown in Fig. 1, the post and wires being shown in side elevation and the rails of one panel being in end view. Fig. 3 is a front view, showing inyimprovement applied to a board fence. Fig. tis a transverse section at :c w, Fig. 3.

(No model.)

AAarefenceposts. Thcpostsmaybemade of round timber or of sawed or split stuft'.

B B are rails, poles, or boards secured to the posts by wires O and staples D. The end of the wire is attached to a staple and then carried around a rail, B, and to another staple, as shown, and from that around another rail, and so on. The staples are driven hard into the sides of the posts, so as to take a firm hold upon the wire and prevent its slipping through the staple. Thus, if one loop around a rail gives way, the next loop will not be affected.

I prefer to arrange the rails or poles B B', as shown, to lap past each other at the posts, so that they need not be cutto any precise length.

It will be seen that the rails are inclined or sloped, so that each ground-rail has one end,

Gr, next the ground and the other end above the end of the ground-rail of the next panel, and thus the rails alternate on the posts, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but I do not contine myself to this arrangement, for the rails may be placed iu a horizontal position, the lowest rail being at each alternate panel.

In the rougher class of fences the ends of the rails or poles may be made to extend through two or more panels, and their ends may lap considerably pastthe posts, and where two projecting ends lap past each other between the posts said ends may be attached together by a lapping of wire.

In Figs. 3 and 4t is shown the manner ofapplying my improvement to a board felice, the boards being shown secured by wires C and nails D.

I do not connc myself to the use of a single' staple or nail between each two rails or boards, for I may use two, as shown clearlyin the upper parts of Figs.2 and 4. It will be seen that the wires are hooked upon the staples, so that if anyloop should become broken the shape of the wire, as well as the biting of the staple, would interfere with its pulling through the staple.

I claim for my fence that it is strong and durable, and that the first cost of building is very small.

The improvement is very useful in making up fences from old material, such as old rails from worm felices which have become rotten at the corners Where the rails eross,and where they harbor moisture, and with boards of board fences where the nail-holes have rotted out or the boards become split.

I prefer that the rails should not touch each other where they lap past at the posts, so that no moisture shall be harbored and cause the timber to rot. rlhe rails,&c., touch the posts;

but the place of contact being vertical, the moisture will quickly drain out and cause no material injury.

In place of the staples D, nails may be used, the wire being merely carried over the nail or turned around the same, and the nail being driven hard in to lock the Wire upon it.

Witnesses SAML. KNIGHT, GEORGE D. KNIGHT. 

